Electronic device capable of operating with battery installed

Abstract

An electronic device capable of operating with a battery installed, the electronic device comprising a substrate, an antenna, a system ground portion, a battery ground portion, and an inductor element. The antenna is disposed on the substrate; the system ground portion is disposed on the substrate; the battery ground portion is configured to be coupled to a negative terminal of the battery; wherein the battery ground portion and the system ground portion are separated from each other, and the inductor element is coupled between the battery ground portion and the system ground portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] An electronic device, particularly an electronic device capable of operating with a battery. Prior Technology

[0002] Figures 1A-1C show examples of a conventional electronic device 100. The electronic device 100 includes a substrate 102 having a first surface (as shown in Figure 1A) and a second surface (as shown in Figure 1B). The first surface primarily houses an antenna 104 and other components such as a processor and switches (not shown). The second surface primarily houses components such as a positive contact 110 and a negative contact 112 of a battery. The positive and negative contacts 110 and 112 respectively contact the positive and negative terminals of the battery 114, allowing the battery 114 to be mounted on the electronic device 100 (as shown in Figure 1C) for operation. In practice, if the battery manufacturer marks the positive and negative terminals, a "+" mark can be seen on the battery casing at the positive terminal, and a "-" mark can be seen at the negative terminal. The electronic device 100 can feed signals to the antenna 104 via a feed unit 101. The electronic device 100 includes a system ground portion 115. For simplicity, the system ground portion 115 is considered to be distributed on the first and second surfaces of the substrate 102, and is coupled to the negative contact 112. If the substrate 102 is a multilayer board, the system ground portion 115 may also be located in the interlayer between the first and second surfaces. Furthermore, system ground portions of different layers can be connected vias for conductivity. Depending on the design of the antenna 104, the antenna 104 may also include an antenna ground portion (not shown in Figures 1A-1C) coupled to the system ground portion 115. In some configurations, one end of the feed portion 101 that feeds the signal into the antenna 104 may be grounded together with the system ground portion 115. In this example, the battery 114 is a lithium battery, but it could also be other types of batteries. The electronic device 100 can be applied in scenarios such as door and window sensors; for example, the electronic device 100 may be equipped with a reed switch (not shown) to work with another independent magnetic structure (not shown) to sense the opening or closing status of doors, windows, or other similar structures. For instance, the electronic device 100 can be installed on the body of a door or window, while the corresponding magnetic structure can be installed on the door or window frame. When the door or window is opened or closed, the electronic device 100 can determine whether the door or window is open or closed based on its proximity to or distance from the magnetic structure, and then send a signal via antenna 104 to the user's mobile phone, computer, or other device, allowing the user to know whether the door or window in their home is open. The electronic device 100 may also be applied in other scenarios.

[0003] However, the signal quality of the antenna 104 in the conventional electronic device 100 still needs improvement. For example, in the application of door and window sensors, it has been found that the signal quality of the existing electronic device 100 is poor, which makes it easy for devices such as hubs or mobile phones used with the electronic device 100 to fail to receive the signal from the electronic device 100 properly, or the reception distance is too short.

[0004] Analysis revealed that the aforementioned problems may stem from the following points. First, the substrate 102 typically defines an antenna clearance area 106 around the area where the antenna 104 is located, minimizing the placement of components that might interfere with the antenna 104. However, the current market trend favors compact and multifunctional products, thus the electronic device 100 may need to accommodate a large number of components within a limited space, resulting in some components still overlapping with the antenna clearance area 106. For example, as shown in Figure 1C, when the battery 114 is installed on the electronic component 100, the battery 114 itself partially overlaps with the antenna clearance area 106, thereby affecting the signal quality of the antenna 104. Second, door and window sensor products typically operate at frequencies below 1 GHz (e.g., the Z-Wave band), requiring antenna lengths to be designed for the operating frequency; however, development is often constrained by product size, resulting in insufficient electrical length of the antenna 104 and weakening its characteristics. Third, the negative terminal of the battery 114 used in the product is connected to the system ground 115 of the electronic device 100, causing the battery 114 and the antenna 104 to share the system ground 115, which also weakens the characteristics of the antenna 104. Under the interaction of the above points, the characteristics of the antenna 104 are severely affected.

[0005] Therefore, a solution is needed that can overcome the aforementioned problems and improve the antenna signal quality. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This disclosure provides an electronic device capable of operating with a battery, which overcomes the problems of the aforementioned prior art.

[0007] In some embodiments, an electronic device capable of operating with a battery is provided, the electronic device comprising: a substrate; an antenna disposed on the substrate; a system ground disposed on the substrate; a battery ground configured to couple to a negative terminal of the battery; and an inductor; wherein the battery ground and the system ground are separate from each other, and the inductor is coupled between the battery ground and the system ground.

[0008] In other embodiments, an electronic device capable of operating with a battery is provided, the electronic device comprising: a substrate including an antenna clearance area; an antenna disposed in the antenna clearance area; a system ground portion disposed on the substrate; and a battery ground portion configured to couple to a negative terminal of the battery; wherein the battery ground portion does not overlap with a projected area of ​​the antenna clearance area on the substrate.

[0009] To further understand the features and technical content of this disclosure, please refer to the following detailed description and figures related to this disclosure. However, the figures provided are for reference and illustration only and are not intended to limit the content of this disclosure. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0010] Figures 1A-1C show schematic diagrams of prior art electronic devices.

[0011] Figures 2A-2B are schematic diagrams of an electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figures 3A-3D are schematic diagrams of an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figures 4A-4C are schematic diagrams of electronic devices according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figures 5A-5C show various extension patterns of the extended ground portion according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 6 shows the antenna efficiency under different electronic device configurations. Implementation

[0016] Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages and effects of this disclosure from the content disclosed in this specification. This disclosure can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of this disclosure. In addition, the drawings in this disclosure are only simple illustrations and are not depictions based on actual dimensions, as stated in advance. The following embodiments will further describe the relevant technical content of this disclosure in detail, but the disclosed content is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure. In addition, it should be understood that although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used in this document to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are mainly used to distinguish one element from another. In this disclosure, "connection" and "coupling" refer to a physical connection between elements, which can be direct or indirect, while "coupling" refers to elements that are separated from each other and have no physical connection, but rather the electric field energy generated by the current of one element excites the electric field energy of another element.

[0017] Figures 2A-2B show schematic diagrams of an electronic device 200 capable of operating with a battery according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic device 200 includes a substrate 202, which includes a first surface (as shown in Figure 2A) and a second surface (as shown in Figure 2B). The first surface may be provided with an antenna 204 and other components (not shown) such as a processor and a switch, while the second surface may be provided with components such as a positive contact 210 and a negative contact 212. When a battery is installed in the electronic device 200, the positive contact 210 and the negative contact 212 are configured to contact the positive and negative terminals of the battery, respectively, thereby enabling the electronic device 200 to operate. In practice, if the battery manufacturer marks the positive and negative terminals, a "+" mark can be seen on the battery casing at the positive terminal, and a "-" mark can be seen on the battery casing at the negative terminal. The electronic device 200 can feed a signal to the antenna 204 via the feed unit 201, wherein the position of the feed unit 201 can vary and is not limited to the drawings in this case (e.g., Figure 2A).

[0018] Electronic device 200 includes a system ground portion 215 disposed on substrate 202. In practical applications, the circuit system of electronic device 200 may include components such as a processor, a reed switch, or other electronic components (not shown in the figures), and the system ground portion 215 can serve as the ground portion of the circuit system of electronic device 200. The system ground portion 215 is distributed on the first surface and / or the second surface of substrate 202 (if substrate 202 is a multilayer board, the system ground portion 215 may also be disposed on the interlayer between the first surface and the second surface). There are many layout patterns for the system ground portion 215, and the layout pattern of the system ground portion 215 may need to be modified due to the placement of other components (not shown in the figures). Therefore, the distribution pattern of the system ground portion 215 in the figures is for reference only, and the content of this disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, depending on the design of antenna 204, antenna 204 may include an antenna ground portion 205 coupled to system ground portion 215, wherein the shape of antenna ground portion 205 may have various variations and is not limited to the figures in this document (e.g., Figure 2A). Furthermore, in some variations, one end of the feed section 201 that feeds the signal into the antenna 204 may be grounded together with the system ground section 215. The substrate 202 includes an antenna clearance area 206. Components should be avoided as much as possible in the antenna clearance area 206 to prevent affecting the signal quality of the antenna 204; therefore, in this embodiment, the system ground section 215 is located outside the antenna clearance area 206. In practice, the feed section 201 and / or the antenna ground section 205 may still occupy a small portion of the antenna clearance area 206.

[0019] Compared to the prior art shown in Figures 1A-1C, the present disclosure provides an independent grounding area for the battery in the embodiments shown in Figures 2A-2B, that is, separating the system grounding portion 215 from the battery grounding portion 214. As shown in Figure 2B, the electronic device 200 can accommodate two batteries, wherein the positive contact 210 and the negative contact 212 can contact the positive and negative terminals of the battery, respectively, and the negative contact 212 is coupled to the battery grounding portion 214. In this embodiment, the system grounding portion 215 surrounds the battery grounding portion 214, but the battery grounding portion 214 does not directly contact the system grounding portion 215, but is coupled through an inductor 216; in other words, the inductor 216 is coupled between the system grounding portion 215 and the battery grounding portion 214. The term "inductor" in this disclosure can refer to any component that can generate impedance to high-frequency signals, such as inductors, RF chokes, ferrite beads, equivalent circuits of printed wires, or equivalent circuits composed of any combination of electronic components. Although the projected area of ​​the battery ground portion 214 and the antenna clearance area 206 on the substrate 202 in this embodiment partially overlaps (refer to FIG. 2B), by separating the system ground portion 215 and the battery ground portion 214 with the inductor 216, the interference of the battery to the antenna 204 can be reduced, and the efficiency of the antenna 204 has been improved. Data on antenna efficiency will be further described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0020] Figures 3A-3D show schematic diagrams of the electronic device 300 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. Like Figures 2A-2B above, the electronic device 300 of Figures 3A-3D also includes a substrate 202 and an antenna 204, wherein the antenna 204 is disposed in an antenna clearance area 206. Compared to the first embodiment shown in Figures 2A-2B, the second embodiment shown in Figures 3A-3D adjusts the component arrangement of the electronic device 300, and a battery receiving area 302 is defined on the substrate 202 for mounting the battery 114. The battery receiving area 302 is provided with a negative electrode contact 312 and a battery ground portion 314. The negative electrode contact 312 is configured to contact the negative terminal of the battery 114, and the negative electrode contact 312 is coupled to the battery ground portion 314; in some variations, the negative electrode contact 312 may be omitted so that the battery 114 directly contacts the battery ground portion 314. In other words, the battery ground portion 314 can be directly or indirectly coupled to the negative terminal of the battery 114. The battery housing area 302 is positioned so that the battery 114 and the battery ground portion 314 can avoid the antenna clearance area 206 to avoid interference with the antenna 204; in other words, the projected areas of the battery ground portion 314 and the antenna clearance area 206 on the substrate 202 do not overlap. By reducing the interaction between the battery 114 and the antenna 204, the efficiency of the antenna 204 is improved. In some embodiments, the battery ground portion 314 and the system ground portion 315 can be further separated from each other, and an inductor 316 can be coupled between the battery ground portion 314 and the system ground portion 315. The minimum spacing between the battery ground portion 314 and the system ground portion 315 can be greater than or equal to 1.5 mm; this can further reduce the interaction between the battery ground portion 314 and the system ground portion 315 caused by induction. In practical applications, the battery housing area 302 can be configured to accommodate other components not shown in Figures 3A-3D, depending on the circumstances. In some embodiments, the battery housing area 302 can be a dedicated area for the battery 114, used only for the battery 114 and its related components, such as the positive contact 310, the negative contact 312, and the battery grounding portion 314. This reduces the impact of the battery 114 on the circuitry of the electronic device 300. Although Figure 3B shows only one battery 114, two or more batteries 114 can be stacked, or different batteries 114 can be mounted on different surfaces of the substrate 202, depending on the circumstances. In this embodiment, the battery 114 is mounted on the first surface of the substrate 202 (Figures 3B and 3C), while the second surface of the substrate 202 (Figure 3D) does not have a battery. In some variations, the second surface of the substrate 202 can also have a battery, which will be described later with reference to Figures 4A-4C.

[0021] Optionally, the electronic device 300 may further include an extended grounding portion 317. The extended grounding portion 317 may be a metal component with height (as shown in Figures 3A and 3B) or a printed conductor (i.e., a planar conductor without significant height, not shown in the figures). In some embodiments, the extended grounding portion 317 does not overlap with a projected area of ​​the antenna clearance area 206 on the substrate 202. The extended grounding portion 317 is coupled to the system grounding portion 315, thus extending the electrical length of the antenna 204 and improving its efficiency. For example, the total electrical length formed by the radiating portion of the antenna 204 (the L-shaped portion of the antenna 204 shown in Figures 3A and 3B) and the grounding portion (the extended grounding portion 317 and the system grounding portion 315) may satisfy ≥ λ / 2, where λ is the wavelength corresponding to the operating frequency of the antenna 204; and the radiating portion and the grounding portion may each occupy half of the total electrical length, approximately ≥ λ / 4. In practice, the lengths of the antenna 204 and the extended ground portion 317 can be designed according to the operating frequency of the antenna 204; for example, in some embodiments, the total length of the antenna 204 is approximately 59 mm, while the total length of the extended ground portion 317 is approximately 71 mm. The extended ground portion 317 surrounds at least a portion of the battery ground portion 314. As shown in Figure 3B, since the extended ground portion 317 has height, it can at least partially shield the height of the battery 114. When the height of the extended ground portion 317 increases, the radiation area can be increased, improving the extension effect. Tests have shown that when the height of the extended ground portion 317 is greater than or equal to 3 mm, the efficiency of the antenna 204 is significantly improved.

[0022] Figures 3C and 3D show the first and second surfaces of the substrate 202 of the electronic device 300, respectively. In this embodiment, the positive contact 310, negative contact 312, battery ground portion 314, inductor 316, and extended ground portion 317 are disposed on the first surface along with the antenna 204. In some variations, the positive contact 310, negative contact 312, battery ground portion 314, inductor 316, and extended ground portion 317 may be disposed on one or both of the first and second surfaces of the substrate 202.

[0023] Figures 4A-4C show schematic diagrams of an electronic device 400 according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the third embodiment is a variation of the second embodiment. The following describes some differences between the third embodiment (Figures 4A-4C) and the second embodiment (Figures 3A-3D). First, the antenna 404 shown in Figure 4A differs in form from the antenna 204 shown in Figure 3A. The antenna 204 shown in Figure 3A is a raised structure, giving it a suspended height relative to the substrate 202. The antenna 404 shown in Figure 4A is replaced by a vertical wall structure 405 erected on the substrate 202. In some variations, antennas 204 and 404 can be replaced with various types of antennas, such as an inverted-F antenna (IFA), a planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA), a monopole antenna, etc. Another difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is that the battery 114 is mounted on the first and second surfaces of the substrate 202 in the third embodiment. Referring to Figures 4B and 4C, it can be seen that the positive electrode contact 310, the negative electrode contact 312, the battery grounding part 314, and the inductor 316 are disposed on the first surface and the second surface of the substrate 202; thus, the battery 114 can be installed on each of the two surfaces of the substrate 202, as shown in Figure 4A.

[0024] Figures 5A-5C show different extension configurations of the extended ground portion 317. Figure 5A shows the extended ground portion 317 extending only to the first surface of the substrate 202; Figure 5B shows the extended ground portion 317 extending to both the first and second surfaces of the substrate 202; Figure 5C shows the extended ground portion 317 extending only to the second surface of the substrate 202. In some variations, the extended ground portion 317 may extend through the substrate 202 itself. When a battery 114 is installed, the height of the extended ground portion 317 may: (1) not cover the battery 114; (2) partially cover the battery 114; or (3) completely cover the battery 114. The extended ground portion 317 and the battery 114 may be disposed on the same surface or different surfaces of the substrate 202. These configurations of the extended ground portion 317 in Figures 5A-5C can be applied to the first to third embodiments shown in Figures 2A-4C, as well as various other variations not shown in the figures.

[0025] Figure 6 shows the antenna efficiency under different electronic device configurations. Configuration 1 corresponds to the prior art electronic device configurations in Figures 1A-1C as a control group. Configuration 2 corresponds to the electronic device configurations in Figures 2A-2B. Configuration 3 corresponds to the electronic device configurations in Figures 3A-3D, but the extended ground portion 317 is replaced with a printed wire instead of a metal part with height. Configuration 4 corresponds to the electronic device configurations in Figures 3A-3D, and the extended ground portion 317 is a metal part with a height greater than or equal to 3 mm. Specifically, in the frequency band of approximately 900 MHz to 930 MHz, the antenna efficiency of Configuration 1 is approximately 23%-25%, the antenna efficiency of Configuration 2 is approximately 30%-33%, the antenna efficiency of Configuration 3 is approximately 48%-55%, and the antenna efficiency of Configuration 4 is approximately 55%-61%. As can be seen from the antenna efficiency comparison of Configurations 1 to 4 in Figure 6, the various embodiments shown in Figures 2A-3D of this disclosure all have improved antenna efficiency compared to the prior art electronic devices in Figures 1A-1C.

[0026] It should be noted that the various embodiments shown in Figures 2A-5C of this disclosure can have various variations. For example, battery 114 is exemplified by a lithium battery, but can be other types of batteries; the positive electrode contacts 210, 310 and the negative electrode contacts 212, 312 for the battery can have various morphological variations; antennas 204, 404 can have various shapes and can be interchanged between various antenna types, such as inverted F-type antennas, planar inverted F-type antennas, monopole antennas, etc.; battery grounding portions 214, 314 can be shapes other than circular; the extended grounding portion 317 can be shapes other than U-shaped. Furthermore, the features described in this disclosure for different embodiments can be arranged and combined separately. Several other variations of the embodiments of this disclosure are not exhaustively listed here.

[0027] The scope of the patent application disclosed herein is not limited to the above content. Therefore, all equivalent technical changes made using the contents of this disclosure specification and drawings are included within the scope of the patent application.

[0028] 100: Electronic devices 101: Feeding Department 102:Substrate 104: Antenna 106: Antenna clearance area 110: Positive contact 112: Negative contact 114: Battery 115: System grounding part 200: Electronic devices 201: Feeding Department 202:Substrate 204: Antenna 205: Antenna grounding part 206: Antenna clearance area 210: Positive contact 212: Negative contact 214: Battery grounding part 215: System grounding part 216: Inductor 300: Electronic devices 302: Battery Reception Area 310: Positive contact 312: Negative contact 314: Battery grounding part 315: System grounding part 316: Inductor 317: Extended grounding part 400: Electronic Devices 404: Antenna 405: Upright section

Claims

1. An electronic device capable of operating with a battery, the electronic device comprising: One substrate; An antenna, which is mounted on the substrate; A system grounding part is provided on the substrate; A battery grounding portion configured to couple to a negative terminal of the battery; and an inductor; wherein the battery grounding portion is separate from the system grounding portion, and the inductor is coupled between the battery grounding portion and the system grounding portion.

2. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna includes an antenna ground portion coupled to a system ground portion.

3. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate includes an antenna clearance area, the antenna is disposed in the antenna clearance area, and the battery grounding portion does not overlap with a projected area of ​​the antenna clearance area on the substrate.

4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the substrate includes a first surface and a second surface, wherein the battery grounding portion is disposed on one or both of the first surface and the second surface.

5. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an extended ground portion coupled to the system ground portion, and the extended ground portion surrounding at least a portion of the battery ground portion.

6. The electronic device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the extended ground portion is a printed conductor.

7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the extended ground portion is a metal component having a height.

8. The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the height is 3 mm or more.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the substrate includes a first surface and a second surface, and the extended ground portion is disposed on one or both of the first surface and the second surface.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a minimum distance between the battery grounding portion and the system grounding portion is greater than or equal to 1.5 mm.

11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the substrate includes an antenna clearance area, the antenna is disposed in the antenna clearance area, and the extended ground portion does not overlap with a projected area of ​​the antenna clearance area on the substrate.

12. An electronic device capable of operating with a battery, the electronic device comprising: A substrate, the substrate including an antenna clearance area; an antenna, the antenna being disposed in the antenna clearance area; A system grounding portion is disposed on the substrate; and a battery grounding portion is configured to couple to a negative terminal of the battery; wherein the battery grounding portion does not overlap with a projected area of ​​the antenna clearance area on the substrate.

13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the antenna includes an antenna ground portion coupled to a system ground portion.

14. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the substrate includes a first surface and a second surface, wherein the battery grounding portion is disposed on one or both of the first surface and the second surface.

15. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12 further includes an extended ground portion coupled to the system ground portion and surrounding at least a portion of the battery ground portion.

16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the extended ground portion is a printed conductor.

17. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the extended ground portion is a metal member having a height of 3 mm or more.

18. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the substrate includes a first surface and a second surface, and the extended ground portion is disposed on one or both of the first surface and the second surface.

19. The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein a minimum distance between the battery grounding portion and the system grounding portion is greater than or equal to 1.5 mm.

20. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the extended ground portion does not overlap with a projected area of ​​the antenna clearance region on the substrate.

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